Q&A WITH OSCAR

We talk business with Oscar Cullinan, Owner & Director of Oscar Oscar Salons:

1. First job and where are you now?

I was brought up in the Irish Countryside in a poor family, so most afternoons and weekends I worked with local farmers, tending livestock & working fields. I could drive a tractor by the age of nine. Seven years ago, I bought a farm near Byron, so I guess you could say I’ve come full circle.

Fast forward to the present and I’m now also the Co-Owner of a boutique Muay Thai boxing gym called Fighters Haven in Burleigh, it’s a good way to de-stress from the demands of dealing with the hairdressing juggernaut that is Oscar Oscar.

2. Best business advice you’ve ever received?

We’re in the business of delivering 6-star service which comes through continuous training and development. A wise man once said to me, “What happens if you train them and they leave?” then, he quipped, “What happens if you don’t train them and they stay?”

3. What do you wish you knew when you first started?

In the words of the Rolling Stones, you can’t always get what you want, but you get what you need. Resilience is the key to long-term success. We learn more from failures than we do from easy wins.

4. Your golden rule in business?

All is fair in love and war… and indeed, in business, except for when it comes to ethics.

“Hire for attitude & train for skill”.

5. A long lunch – a waste of time or essential?

Long lunches can be good to develop friendships and bonds, but business dealings must always be agreed to prior to any alcoholic beverage. Only then, should bread and wine be truly broken.

6. Who is in your business mobile’s speed dial?

My internal Accountants, of course

My Business Development Manager

My Marketing Team

7. If you had $1million spare what industry would you be investing in right now?

Funny you should ask, as I’m doing that right now. Hemp and its derived properties will be bigger than Bitcoin. Sugar kills, hemp heals – do the math.

8. What should primary students be studying?

People skills. Interactive skills are hugely undervalued – schools ignore this largely. Gender diversity and inclusion is also imperative to teach – women can do many things much better than men can.

9. Biggest frustration doing business on the Gold Coast and how to fix it?

I love the Gold Coast, it is constantly growing and evolving, and its perception is changing for the better. I don’t think we’ve managed to market its magnificence properly yet, but that will happen. Right now, it’s the best kept secret on the planet.